The win last night was a long time coming, and it sure was nice to see. Particularly nice to see were Kari's reaction after giving up a late goal and Colby Armstrong's jubilation after Holik scored the empty-netter.

It has been suggested that there is nothing left to play for except for draft position, but that's nonsense.

Nobody on this team should want to lose any given game. You want your players to hate losses and you want them to be excited about wins, even if they are all but meaningless. There have been a lot of losses this season, and it would have been very easy for some players to just accept them and get used to it. The fire showed by Lehtonen when he swung his stick at the goal post after giving up the second goal last night shows that he still hates losing. The excitement shown by Colby Armstrong after a teammate scored into an empty net to virtually secure a win shows that he'd still rather win than do anything else. There is still a lot to play for.

After the game Mark Recchi was honest and said it felt good to deny the Panthers a shot at making the playoffs. Good for him. Not only does it show how competitive he is, but it shows that he's looking for ways to make these games meaningful. Whether it's a player with an expiring contract looking to improve his numbers heading into contract talks or a returning player that wants to build off of something positive at the end of the year, there are still reasons to battle through these last four games. Colby Armstrong can still make a big impression on his teammates, coaches and management before this season wraps up and that impression will carry over to training camp. It will temper the thoughts of management as they seek out free agents. Contracts and roles are on the line, not to mention the pride that you hope everyone is still playing for. Very few players on the current roster have expiring contracts, so the core of this team is unlikely to change from this season to next (although there will likely be some key additions). Nobody wants to return next season with a bunch of guys that gave up on each other down the stretch. It was a bad season and everyone knows it, but what happens tonight in Raleigh and next week in Tampa and Atlanta can lay the groundwork for a better season in 2008-09.